Exhibit Hall

Reaching for New Realities: VR & AR Implementation in STEM

Presented by: Fitchburg Public Schools

Strand: K-12 Education

This exhibit is designed for educators and administrators from K-12 and beyond to explore the benefits of implementing Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) Technology and Google Expeditions. The exhibit will highlight Virtual Reality implementation within Fitchburg Public Schools, including alignment of VR experiences with 2016 MA STE Curriculum Frameworks.

One of the unique capabilities of Virtual Reality is that it couples symbolic and experiential information to create conditions which promote equity by providing students opportunities to build their background knowledge and extensive content-rich vocabulary. For students with diverse learning needs, VR provides an alternative medium. Immersive learning techniques like VR education directly contribute to increased cognitive memory. The benefits of incorporating VR/AR tech into educational experiences include better, more immediate engagement and the opportunity for learners to "feel" the experiences and better remember and express what they learned. The more a learner is able to participate in life-like engagement, the easier it is to personally feel a connection to the subject material, making it easier for application and retention of the subject matter.

Participants will have the opportunity to participate in a virtual reality experience through Google Expeditions as a Guide (teacher) or Explorer (student), explore our district-developed resources which were designed to support implementation and interact with district educators, administrators and IT staff for Q & A.